Born in Evansville in 1972. Was the St. Louis Cardinals' first-round selection in the 1993 amateur draft. Made his MLB debut in 1995. Joined the Chicago Cubs in 2001. Traded to Texas Rangers in 2003, and was granted free agency later that year. In 2004 he was signed by St. Louis, and again was granted free agency.
Andy Benes
Graduate of Evansville's Central High School and University of Evansville. Was the first pick of the 1988 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. Pitched for the U.S. Olympic team in Seoul in 1988 and won his lone start (against Australia). Pitched for the Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks during his 14-year career.
Jamey Carroll
Born in Evansville in 1974, the infielder made his major league debut on September 11, 2002 with the Montreal Expos, who in 2005 moved to Washington D.C. and became the Nationals.
Bob Coleman
Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame member and native of nearby Huntingburgh, IN. Signed as catcher with Pittsburgh Pirates in 1910, played in majors in 1913 and 1914 with Pittsburgh and 1916 with Cleveland. Managed the Boston Braves from 1943 to 1945 before beginning a 34-year minor league managing career. One of only two managers to win 2,000 games in the minors. Served as both franchise president and manager for Evansville's minor league team, and he helped develop players such as Hank Greenberg, Warren Spahn, Birdie Tebbetts and Del Crandall. A plaque near the main entrance of Evansville's Bosse Field hails Coleman as the, "finest teacher in all organized ball."
Jerry Dale
Born in Evansville in 1933. Major League Baseball (National League) umpire from 1971 to 1985. Officiated All-Star games in 1972 and 1980, League Championship Series in 1973, 1976 and 1979, and the Division Series in 1981. Officiated the 1977 World Series, in which Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in game six.
Charlie Dexter
Born in Evansville in 1876. Began his professional baseball career in 1896 at the age of 20 with the Louisville Colonels. Played nearly every position, except pitcher, during his eight-year career, which also included stints with the Chicago Orphans, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Beaneaters.
Sal Fasano
Graduate of the University of Evansville. Catcher drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1996. Also played for Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Anaheim Angels and for the Baltimore Orioles in 2005.
Ervin "Pete" Fox
Born in Evansville in 1909. Starting center fielder for the Detroit Tigers from 1933 to 1940, and for Boston from 1941 to 1945. Played in three World Series for Detroit, winning in 1935.
Harley Grossman
Born in Evansville in 1930. A pitcher, Grossman played for the Washington Nationals for the 1952 season.
Charles Knoll
Born in Evansville in 1881. Played one season, 1905, with the Washington Nationals. Had 244 at-bats in 79 game appearances, 63 of which he played outfield.
Clarence "Big Boy" Kraft
Born in Evansville in 1887. Played three games at first base for the Boston Braves during the 1914 season. Had one hit in three at-bats.
Don Mattingly
Graduate of Evansville's Memorial High School. Was a three-sport letterman at Memorial. Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 19th round of the 1979 amateur draft. Had a 13-year career with Yankees. Was an All-Star from 1984 - '89, was named American League MVP in 1985, and was named The Sporting News American League MVP in 1984, '85 and '86. Won the batting title in 1984 and won nine Gold Glove Awards. Led the league in slugging percentage in 1986, led the league in hits in 1984 and 1986, and led the AL in RBIs in 1985. Served as Yankees' team captain longer than any other player in team history. His number 23 jersey was retired by the Yankees in 1997.
Rob Maurer
Born in Evansville in 1967. Played first base and was designated hitter for the Texas Rangers during the 1991 and 1992 seasons. Played in 21 games and had 25 at-bats.
Ray Newman
Born in Evansville in 1945. Made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs in 1971, then played for Milwaukee in 1972 and 1973. Pitched in 45 games during his three-year career, earning a 3-3 won-loss record.
Scott Rolen
Born in Evansville in 1975. Was named Indiana's "Mr. Baseball" in 1993. Made his MLB debut in 1996 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Led all NL rookies in average, home runs, RBIs, runs, hits, doubles, total bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, extra-base hits and longest hitting streak in 1997, making him the unanimous selection for 1997 NL Rookie of the Year. Currently playing for St. Louis Cardinals.
Al "Shelley" Schellhase
Born in Evansville in 1864. Made his professional baseball debut on May 7, 1890 with the Boston Beaneaters. After playing the 1890 season with Boston, he played the 1891 season with the Louisville Colonels. During his two-year career, Shelley had 49 at-bats in 16 games played.
Jeff Schulz
Born in Evansville in 1962 and a graduate of Evansville's Memorial High School. Played for the Kansas City Royals for the 1989 and 1990 seasons, and played with Pittsburgh in 1991. Made appearances in the outfield or as a designated hitter in 30 games during his three-year career, making 85 plate appearances.
Syl "Sammy" Simon
Born in Evansville in 1897. Played third base and shortstop for the St. Louis Browns in 24 games during the 1923 and 1924 seasons. Career batting average .242.
Paul Splitteroff
Born in Evansville in 1946. Made his major league debut in 1970 with the Kansas City Royals. Pitched his entire 15-year career with Kansas City. Amassed a career win-loss percentage of .537 in 429 games. Pitched 88 complete games and 17 shutouts. Made seven post-season appearances, including the 1980 series in which the Royals beat the Yankees.
Jim "Lefty" Wallace
Born in Evansville in 1921 and a graduate of Evansville's Bosse High School. Pitched for the Boston Braves in 1942, 1945 and 1946, and played the balance of his 15-year career in the minor leagues.
Jack Warner
Born in Evansville in 1903. Made his major league debut in 1925 with the Detroit Tigers. During his eight-year professional career, Warner also played for the Brooklyn Robins and the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1,546 at-bats in 478 games, Warner scored 199 runs and had 387 hits, 52 doubles, 20 triples and one home run.
Hall of Famers who played on Evansville minor league teams:
Sam Thompson
Edd Roush
Hank Greenberg
Warren Spahn
Chuck Klein
Former Evansville Tripletts minor league players who went on to major league greatness:
Kirk Gibson
Jack Morris
Lance Parrish
Howard Johnson
Basketball
Marv Bates
Evansville native and local broadcasting legend. Served as the voice of the Evansville Triplets and the University of Evansville. Bates was aboard the plane taking the University of Evansville men's basketball team to Nashville on December 13, 1977 when the plane crashed. All aboard were killed in what stands as one of the worst sports team crashes in United States history. The Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association honored Bates by naming the Indiana Sportscaster of the Year award in his honor.
Ted Bernhardt
Graduate of the University of Evansville. Currently NBA referee number 16.
Don Buse
Graduate of the University of Evansville. Led the Purple Aces men's basketball team to the NCAA College Division title in 1971. Played 13 seasons in the ABA and NBA. Played in one ABA and one NBA All-Star game. His 3.47 steals per game average in the 1976 - '77 season stands as the second-best of all time, as does his 281 total steals that same season.
Calbert Cheaney
Graduate of Evansville's Harrison High School. Enjoyed a successful basketball career at Indiana University. Received the Wooden and Naismith awards as College Player of the Year after his senior season. Selected by the Washington Bullets (now Washington Wizards) in the first round of the 1993 NBA draft. Played for Washington, Boston and Denver. Played for the Utah Jazz in 2002 - 2003 under fellow "Evansville Hall of Fame" member Jerry Sloan. Signed a free agent contract with the Golden State Warriors in 2003.
Gus Doerner
Evansville basketball legend. Led the Evansville College (now University of Evansville) Purple Aces during his four-year college career. Earned the school's first All-America honor. Chosen as an honorable mention on the 1941 Chuck Taylor Converse Team. Along with Jerry Sloan, Doerner's was the first jersey retired by the school. Played professionally with the Indianapolis Kautskys and the Fort Wayne Pistons.
Bob Ford
Graduate of Evansville's North High School. Had a distinguished playing career at Purdue. Chosen by the New York Knicks in the fifth round of the 1972 NBA draft. Currently a television executive and the Purdue men's basketball commentator.
Larry Humes
Graduate of Evansville College (now University of Evansville). Two-time All-American. Led the Purple Aces to NCAA College Division national championships in 1964 and 1965. Three-time MVP of Indiana Collegiate Conference. Three-time NCAA All-Tourney selection. Became Evansville's all-time leading scorer.
Walter McCarty
Graduate of Evansville's Harrison High School. Led the Kentucky Wildcats to the NCAA Championship in 1996. Was a first-round draft pick by the New York Knicks in 1996. Was traded to the Boston Celtics in 1997, and to the Phoenix Suns in 2005.
Arad McCutchan
Graduate of Evansville's Bosse High School and Evansville College (now University of Evansville). Coached the Evansville College men's basketball team for 31 seasons. Won over 500 games, compiled a 46-14 post-season record and won five NCAA College Division championships (1959, '60, '64, '65, '71). Named National Coach of the Year twice and Indiana Collegiate Conference coach of the Year twelve times. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973 and New York's All Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.
Dave Schellhase
1962 graduate of Evansville's North High School. Held city scoring record with 1,325 career points. Averaged 30.5 points per game as a senior. Named MVP three straight years during college career at Purdue. Named to All-Big 10 team 3 times, Second Team All ÐAmerican as a junior, consensus First Team All-American as a senior, and two-time Academic All-American. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls and played two seasons in the NBA. Later coached at Indiana State and Moorehead. Inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
Jerry Sloan
Graduate of Evansville College (now University of Evansville). Led Evansville College to two NCAA College Division championships and to the team's only unbeaten season in 1964 - '65. Along with Gus Doerner, Sloan's was the first jersey retired by the school. Currently head coach of the NBA's Utah Jazz.
Cycling
Frank Kramer
Born in Evansville on November 21, 1880. Was an 18-time national sprint bicycling champion, winning the National Professional Championships from 1901 to 1916 and in 1918 and 1921. Won the Grand Prix de Paris in 1905 and 1906. First American to win the World Professional Sprint Championship. Earned at least $20,000 per year for 22 years (by comparison, Ty Cobb made half of that in 1911). Inducted into US Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1988.
Football
Ray "Bibbles" Bawell
Evansville native. Played halfback for Philadelphia Eagles during the 1952, 1955 and 1956 seasons. Made 18 interceptions in his 36-game career.
Sean Bennett
Graduate of Evansville's Harrison High School. Played at University of Evansville, graduated from Northwestern. Drafted by New York Giants in 1999. Acquired as a free agent by New York Jets in 2003. In 2005 he played for the UIF Evansville Bluecats then joined the Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League.
Herman Byers
Evansville football coaching legend. Coached Reitz High School's football team to 189 victories, eight undefeated seasons, seven state championships, 12 conference titles and 14 city titles in his 27-year career. His 1961 team not only went undefeated, they were not even scored upon.
Deke Cooper
John Delvicchio Cooper attended Evansville North High School where he played running back. At Notre Dame, he started all four years as a free safety. He signed as a free agent in 2000 with Arizona and currently plays as a starter on special teams for the Jacksonville Jaquars.
Bob Griese
Graduate of Evansville's Rex Mundi High School (now closed). All-American at Purdue, leading the team to a Rose Bowl victory in 1967. Drafted as a quarterback in the first round (fourth overall) by the Miami Dolphins in 1967. In 14-year playing career, won three AFC titles and two Super Bowls, was named All-Pro twice and All-AFC three times, played in two AFL All-Star games and six AFC-NFC Pro Bowls, and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1971. Was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
Don Hansen
Graduate of Evansville's Reitz High School. Led Reitz' 1961 football team to an undefeated and un-scored upon season. All-Big Ten Conference linebacker at Illinois. Drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1965. During his 13-year career, he also played for the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers.
Kevin Hardy
Graduate of Evansville's Harrison High School. Was high school city, conference and region player of the year. Played at Illinois University, where he won the Butkus Award. Chosen by Jacksonville Jaguars with the second pick of the 1996 NFL draft. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 2002, and signed with the Cincinnati Bengal's for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In 2005 he became a free agent.
Billy Hillenbrand
Graduate of Evansville's Memorial High School. Drafted by the New York Giants in 1944. Played for the Chicago Rockets in 1946 and for the Baltimore Colts in 1947 and 1948. Led his teams in scoring in 1946, '47, and '48.
Don Ping
Evansville football coaching legend. Coached Memorial High School's 1937 football team to an 11-0 record for a share of the mythical national championship. Compiled a career coaching record of 118-27-7, including an incredible 40-game winning streak. Went on to coach at Evansville College (now University of Evansville).
Larry Stallings
Graduate of Evansville's Memorial High School. Captained Memorial's 1958 football team to an undefeated season. Was a standout at Georgia Tech before spending 14 seasons as a linebacker with the St. Louis Cardinals (franchise now is the Arizona Cardinals). Played on the 1970 NFC Pro Bowl team - a game in which Evansville's Bob Griese quarterbacked the AFC team.
Scott Studwell
Graduate of Evansville's Harrison High School. Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings as a middle linebacker in the ninth round in 1977. Became the Vikings' all-time leading tackler. Played in the Pro Bowl in 1987 and 1988.
Golf
Darrett Brinker
Biographical information coming soon.
Bob Hamilton
An Evansville native, called the greatest golfer in Indiana history. A member of the 1949 Ryder Cup team. Beat Byron Nelson to win the 1944 PGA Championship in what has been called the second-biggest upset in golf history.
Brian Tennyson
Biographical information coming soon.
Soccer
Scott Cannon
Graduate of Evansville's Memorial High School and the University of Evansville. Named First Team All-American in senior year. Team reached NCAA Final Four and posted 20 shutouts in 1990. Played 10 years of professional soccer for teams in the MLS, APSL, USISL, and NPSL, including the Tampa Bay Mutiny, the Colorado Rapids and the Columbus Crew.
Tennis
Byron "Buddy" Buckley
Graduate of Evansville's Bosse High School and Evansville College, where he played #1 singles. Compiled a 496 Ð 16 record coaching the North Central High School men's tennis team, including 15 state team titles. Chosen National High School Tennis Coach of the Year in 1985. Teams named best in the nation by USA Today in 1988 and 1989. Inducted into the UE Athletic Hall of Fame, and was first inductee into Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame.
Louise Owen
Biographical information coming soon.
Woodie Sublette-Walker
Newburgh, Indiana resident. Chief of tennis officials for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. More biographical information coming soon.
Sara Mae Turber
Evansville's "Queen" of the tennis courts. Ranked second in the world in Lawn Tennis. More biographical information coming soon.
Track & Field
Charles Hornbostel
Graduate of Evansville's Central High School. Member of the 1932 and 1936 U.S. Olympic Track & Field teams.
Hillsdale the Thoroughbred
One of only 5 horses in history to sweep the prestigious Santa Anita's Strub Stakes Series, Hillsdale was owned by R J Murphy of Murlogg Farms located on Hillsdale Road on Evansville's northside. As one of the top handicapped horses in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Hillsdale is the all-time Indiana money earner. Today, Hoosier Park honors him with the annual Hillsdale Stakes for 2-yr old Indiana bred horses.
Dr. Ralph Wilson
Graduate of Evansville's Central High School. Wilson was a professional wrestler in 1930.
